Winston-Salem Journal LTE SU 06/10/12

A hot meal

There's an ad for Senior Services of Winston-Salem that plays before movies at Aperture Cinema. It shows a picture of an elderly lady with the words: "She doesn't want a Botox shot or a mud bath, but a hot meal would be nice."

I think of that whenever I see something like the letter "Bias and special treatment" (June 3), claiming that wanting economic fairness is a matter of "class envy."

I've yet to see letters from anyone reading, "I want 10 mansions and a private jet, too!" Instead, the middle class talks about wanting a fair wage, decent health care and a good education for their children. That has nothing to do with "class envy" — it has to do with wanting the kind of middle-class existence that is classically American, that our parents and grandparents had, that they gained as the rewards of hard work. Was that "class envy"?

The American dream is threatened because the rich are manipulating the economy to take more and more money from the middle class and the poor — and so are members of Congress. Theyare the greedy ones, and they will never have enough.

Why do conservatives make this unfair and inaccurate accusation of "class envy"? Because if the issue is fairness, they know they lose.

This false claim is going to be repeated throughout the election season. When it happens, I hope your readers will remember: "She doesn't want a Botox shot or a mud bath, but a hot meal would be nice."

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JANE FREEMONT GIBSON

Winston-Salem

Not a bad place

I appreciate what the writer of the letter "Guarded optimism" (June 2) had to say and congratulate his granddaughter on her graduation. But I can't help feeling sorry for him for not only his "guarded optimism" but for the pessimism he feels for the future his granddaughter will inherit.

He writes about "unnatural, shameful and disgraceful lifestyles that seem to be both accepted and endorsed by much of the media, including the Journal and its 'Occupy Forum' contributors," and it's not hard to figure out what he's really talking about. No wonder he feels pessimistic, as he sees the acceptance of people he and his generation demonized, much as a previous generation once saw desegregation as unnatural and evil.

He adds his fears of "impending terrorist activity, pampering of captured terrorists, ignorance of the Muslim agenda, a troublesome immigration status, questionable foreign policy, weakening military capability and absence of both political and spiritual leadership" — all of which are unfounded concerns based on right-wing propaganda and fear-mongering.

The world is not such a bad place. The fact is that the world is becoming a better place, all the more so as our borders shrink and we embrace and befriend people who are different from us, realizing that actually, we all have so much in common.

For his sake I wish that he could see things differently. I suspect his granddaughter, and/or those of her generation, do.

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KATHERINE B. PATTERSON

Winston-Salem

Sum It Up

Should Americans care about the big ceremonies of the British royal family?

Correspondent of the Week

Debt compromise needed

Congress missed the opportunity last summer to fix the budget rather than play kick the can to Dec. 31. The point that makes this year-end sunset unique between two parties is there is no choice that comes without changes to taxes and spending that each party will oppose. The fight is further intriguing as the status quo cannot be maintained by a failure to act — it's automatic.

By doing nothing, tax increases and massive defense and other cuts start Jan. 1, 2013.

In order to move forward, both parties must compromise .

The first compromise will cause/require additional compromises. The longer they put off the primary (first) compromise, the deeper the hole becomes for the supporting compromises.

The fight will require a deficit reduction that stabilizes the ratio of debt to GDP and initiates a downward trend. This fight will require public debate unlike no other because it will involve public investment in education and infrastructure and increases in the standard of living (growth). Entitlement reform and spending modification/priorities will need to be named and made difficult to delay or cancel.

Please make no mistake, if the government borrowing continues to be the only hog fed at the trough, if business confidence continues to erode due to uncertainty, if operating deficits prevent our ability to make strategic investments, then we will have squandered one of the best opportunities of modern times to pull away from this fiscal abyss.

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HIL CASSELL

Lewisville